DeLorean takes flight again with entry into electric flying car racing series
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DeLorean, known from the Back to the Future films, is finally preparing to fly for real. The American carmaker is joining the Airspeeder electric aircraft racing series and will field its first racing aircraft as early as November. The team will initially use an existing aircraft, but DeLorean says it will develop its own design in collaboration with US universities for the following season.
DeLorean swaps tarmac for airspace
DeLorean Motor Company announced at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco that it is joining the Airspeeder International Series as its first American constructor. The new DeLorean Airspeeder Team will begin competing in the 2026–2027 season, which starts in November.
Unlike conventional motorsport, the races do not take place on a tarmac circuit. Pilots fly electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft through a three-dimensional racecourse whose boundaries are defined by an electronic system.
Electronic flight control systems and AI-based safety systems play an important role in controlling the aircraft.
First aircraft to come from Airspeeder
In its debut season, the team will use the Airspeeder Mk3C racing aircraft, with the American carmaker responsible for its visual design. For the following 2027–2028 season, the company plans to field an aircraft of its own design. Engineering students from US universities will be involved in its development, including representatives from the University of California, Berkeley and Georgia Tech.
DeLorean has not yet released the racing aircraft’s technical specifications, the pilots’ names or the exact race calendar.
The company’s goal nevertheless extends beyond racing. Participation in the Airspeeder series provides an opportunity to test electric flight technology, control systems and safety systems under conditions that place heavy demands on the equipment.
From cinematic fantasy to a real aircraft
The DeLorean name is associated above all with the DMC-12 sports car, which the Back to the Future films made famous worldwide. In the films, the car could fly as well as travel through time. Now, more than 40 years later, the idea of a flying DeLorean is becoming a reality, at least in competitive racing.
However, Airspeeder machines are not conventional flying cars. They are electric aircraft designed specifically for flight and cannot be driven on ordinary roads.
For us, the project is of particular interest for its role in the development of electric aviation. The batteries, control systems and safety technology tested in racing could also contribute to the development of passenger-carrying eVTOL aircraft in the future.
DeLorean is therefore not bringing a flying successor to the DMC-12 to market, but entering an entirely new racing class. Whether this will ever lead to an aircraft intended for ordinary users remains unknown. At least one part of the famous cinematic fantasy, however, is beginning to become reality.
